<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>To rob thee of a kiss by ivy_thalassa</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26112679">To rob thee of a kiss</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/ivy_thalassa/pseuds/ivy_thalassa'>ivy_thalassa</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>A Court of Thorns and Roses Series - Sarah J. Maas</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe, F/M, Nessian - Freeform</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-08-25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-08-25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 07:07:19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Not Rated</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,391</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26112679</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/ivy_thalassa/pseuds/ivy_thalassa</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Nes and Cas steal a kiss from each other in front of the entrance to a busy train station — but is that all they steal?<br/>(Includes a bit of cursing)</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Nesta Archeron/Cassian</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>23</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>To rob thee of a kiss</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Hey guys! Hope you like this! <br/>It was super fun to write so yeah :)<br/>I still have a ton of undone work but... oops?<br/>Let me know what you think! Please leave a comment / kudos!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Her striking blue-gray eyes peered up at him through her long dark eyelashes. “You’re not from around here, are you?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What makes you say that?” He lifted an eyebrow.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She let a small smile play on her lips. “I think I would’ve remembered you.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Is that so?” His eyes twinkled mischievously. “What’s your name, sweetheart?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Nes,” she said softly, stepping closer to him. “It’s short for Anastasia. What’s yours?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Most people call me Lucas, but you, darling, can call me Cas,” he winked. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She giggled lightly. Her eyes scanned his body head to toe, heat evident in her expression. Cas took the opportunity to admire her body the same way, though he did it much more covertly. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Like what you see?” he smirked. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She blushed slightly. “I was just, um, admiring you tattoos.” She tucked a strand of her chestnut colored hair behind her ear. “What do they mean?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He lowered his voice, knowing she could hear him despite the din caused by all the people going in and out of the entry/exit to the train station which they were standing in front of.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“This one,” he said, pointing at his right forearm, “is the tree of life. It stays the same, even if you flip it upside down, like this,” he demonstrated. He then pointed to his bicep. “This one is the Dara Knot. It symbolizes strength — not just physical strength, but also inner strength.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Nes lifted one hand as if to trace the tattoos, but kept her hand a couple inches away from his skin. Instead, she traced the pattern with her eyes.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Cas turned his gaze to his other arm and pointed at his swirled inked on his upper arm. “This is the Triskelion. It’s an ancient symbol that represents progress.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Wow,” Nes whispered in an awed tone. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Cas laughed quietly. “You’re quite wow yourself, if you don’t mind my saying.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She bit her bottom lip in a half-shy, half-coy gesture. “I don’t mind,” she whispered in response.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Suddenly, someone bumped into her from behind and she lost her balance. She reached out a hand and blindly grabbed Cas’ left bicep, while Cas snaked his right arm around her waist to steady her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Thanks,” she breathed, gazing dazedly into his eyes. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“My pleasure.” His gaze dropped to her lips, then flitted towards her chest for just a second before returning to her lips. Still, a slightly pink coloring entered his cheeks. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Nes removed her hand from his arm, and brought it to his cheek. Their eyes met, and then their lips were pressing against each other. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Their kiss started out soft. One of Cas’ arms was still wrapped around her, and he tugged her closer. Nes’ hand caressed his face until it stopped to rest by his neck. One of Cas’ arms was still between them. As he made to move it, his hand skimmed her chest, somewhat awkwardly brushing past her cleavage before making its way out of their embrace and finding its place behind her shoulders. Their kiss grew more heated and passionate, and Nes used her other arm to tug Cas closer by the waistband of his pants. They continued to kiss until they ran out of air, at which point they pulled apart, gasping. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>After a moment, their eyes met once more. Nes murmured, “I-”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Just then, someone tugged on Nes’ shoulder. It was a girl who looked like a slightly younger version of Nes — she had the same hair, but it was tied in braids with ribbons and she was adorning a floral patterned dress. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Nes! I’ve been looking for you everywhere!” The girl declared. “We’ve been waiting for you! Come on, we need to go!” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Nes gave Cas an apologetic look. “I’m sorry, I need to get going.” She hesitated for a moment, as if debating what to do. Then she grimaced, “Maybe I’ll see you around sometime.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Cas couldn’t help but display dejection on his face as he muttered, “Yeah, maybe.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>As she gave him one more look that cried </span>
  <em>
    <span>‘I’m so sorry’</span>
  </em>
  <span>, he panicked and grabbed her hand. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Wait! One sec,” his hand reached into his back pocket, and he grabbed a pen. “Here.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He started writing his phone number onto the palm of her hand. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Come on! Nes!” the girl insisted, tugging on Nes’ other elbow.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Wait just one second, ok, Elle?” she replied in an irritated tone.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>As Cas finished, Nes let out a small sigh before walking off. She gave him one last longing look before she disappeared into the crowd.</span>
</p>
<hr/>
<p>
  <span>“WHAT THE FUCK?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh my god, Nesta, I can’t believe this,” Feyre groaned, shaking her head.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“How did you not notice?” Elain inquired. “Didn’t you hide it in your bra?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I don’t know, I-” Nesta frowned. “It must’ve been during the kiss. His hand-”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Wait, wait, wait, WHAT?” Lucien cried, raising his hands in a timeout motion. “You KISSED him?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It was necessary,” Nesta replied, rolling her eyes.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Feyre snorted. “You always tell us to use everything — flirt, cry, laugh, scream — but don’t let them touch you romantically and yet you just kissed him? Just like that?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, first of all, those are my rules for you little naive children,” Nesta explained. Feyre snorted again and Lucien whispered something that resembled, “Naive children my ass.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Secondly,” Nesta continued, “he didn’t have a bag and I checked to see if it was in any of his pockets or any other easily accessible location, but it wasn’t. He already noticed me, so I couldn’t just bump into him and then run away — he already knew my face and he’d realize. Plus he was super muscular-”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, I’m starting to see why you kissed him,” Feyre quipped. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Ooh, you liked him, huh,” Lucien grinned. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Nesta ignored them. “I knew that I couldn’t have physically overpowered him, so I needed to distract him long enough to unzip the pouch inside his pants and retrieve his wallet.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So basically, you kissed him so that you could get into his pants?” Elain asked with feigned innocence. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Nesta groaned and dropped her face into her hands. “How was I supposed to know that he was pickpocketing me, too?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Seriously, though, how intense was this make out session? I mean, how did you not notice him taking it out of the bottom of your bra? I thought you put it in between your breasts because that was the most sensitive part of your body and there was no way you wouldn’t notice your wallet or your clothes moving along your skin there?” Feyre inquired with a raised eyebrow. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Shut up,” came Nesta’s dignified reply.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So, how hot was this guy?” Lucien whispered to Elain.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Extremely hot,” Elain replied. “He had really nice hair and tattoos. And nice eyes, too.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So Nesta definitely liked him?” Feyre asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I did not!” Nesta contested loudly, which they all pretended not to hear. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, for sure. She told him her name was Nes and all that, which you know she only does for the special ones.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That was just to add to the romantic deception!” Nesta spluttered.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“He definitely liked her back,” Elain added. “I mean, yeah, sure, he pickpocketed her, but he also gave her his number.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Feyre and Lucien gasped dramatically. Nesta rolled her eyes.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Okay, that’s it.” She took a deep breath and then spoke seriously. “I’m extremely sorry about what happened. I’m very disappointed in myself and I’ll make sure to brush up on everything to make sure I’m aware of my body at all times.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s okay,” Elain comforted. “We all screw up sometimes.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, but not me,” Nesta replied. It was not arrogance that prompted this response, but rather responsibility. When their mother had died and their father had lost their fortune, Nesta had been the first one to start pickpocketing. Feyre, an adorable child, would dance on the street and get tips from tourists who appreciated her skills. Elain, young and innocent, would beg strangers to spare her some change. While strangers tended to take pity on young girls, as they grew up, people no longer gave them a second glance, and instead avoided them, giving them a wide breadth on the street when they saw them begging or dancing. While Elain and Feyre’s income decreased, Nesta, who kept learning new tricks and improving in the art of theft, brought home increasing amounts of money. Then, their father died. There really was no decision — it was stealing or starving. Nesta taught her sisters all her tricks and slowly but surely, all three Archerons became talented pickpockets. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lucien had run away from home after he’d taken one too many beatings from the man he had called a father. He later learned that this man was actually only connected to him by virtue of being his mother’s husband — Lucien himself was the product of a love affair between his mother (the wife of an influential politician) and a Hollywood actor. His biological father, who his mother still refused to name, most likely did not know Lucien even existed. His mother’s husband had known from the minute Lucien was born that the baby was not his, but in order to avoid a scandal, he raised the baby (who looked similar enough to his mother that he didn’t stand out too much) with his own children — though he did not give Lucien the same treatment. While his five elder brothers (who were all biological children of his mother and his mother’s husband) got to live a spoiled life, Lucien was severely punished for every little thing, and was not allowed to eat dinner more often than not. He did chores with the maids, was belittled as often as possible, and bore the brunt of his mother’s husband’s anger whenever the latter was drunk or had a stressful day (which was fairly often, as he was a politician). After running away, Lucien learned to perform magic tricks — playing at first with coins, then knives, and then fire. These street performances led him to realize not only how stingy people were (they’d happily watch him perform for 15 minutes, then suddenly realize they had to go when he passed around a hat for them to put their tips into), but also how many unaware, dumb, entitled tourists there were. That was how he had started his pickpocketing career. One day, however, he had pickpocketed someone the Archeron sisters had chosen as their target. Lucien had retrieved the wallet, despite his far inferior thieving skills, and ran off with it. The target however, immediately noticed the absence of his wallet — Lucien hadn’t bothered to replace the wallet with anything, despite the fact that the man kept patting his breastpocket, and his ‘accidental’ bump into the man hadn’t been very subtle. In fact, the man most likely would’ve chased after Lucien himself if Elain, who had been charming him with sweet childlike smiles and made up stories about their mother, hadn’t run after Lucien herself. The man seemed to believe that Elain was retrieving the wallet for him. Elain’s facade worked every time.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Despite his lack of experience and skill, Lucien was a fast runner. It took Elain a long time to catch up with him (also due to the fact that she was wearing a dress) but eventually the Archerons did catch him — after all, there were three of them and one of him. After taking a look at his too-small frame and dirty face, however, they decided to take him under their wing. Thus, their little band of thieves had formed. Lucien, Feyre and Elain all learned from Nesta before going out to apply said knowledge in the real world, where they picked up their own tips and tricks. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Nesta shut her eyes briefly, then reopened them. “The good news is, there was only like 25 € in there. I left the rest at home beforehand.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Home for them was a tiny apartment. There had been a time when they were homeless, but now they rented this apartment — despite its size, all of them loved and appreciated it. They slept on mattresses on the floor and used minimal electricity in order to keep the costs low, and the four of them together were almost always crammed and bumping into each other — but it was still their home. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Elain, Feyre and Lucien visibly relaxed in relief. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“How much was in his wallet?” Lucien asked after a while. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Nesta gave them her ferocious trademark grin. “572€”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Feyre let out a cheer. Lucien held out his hand for Nesta to high-five, which she did with an air of reluctance. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Elain only smiled, but she had a glint in her eye that made Nesta wonder how everyone so easily believed her to be harmless and naive. “We won,” Elain stated. Then she turned to Nesta. “You know what that means, right?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Nesta stayed silent, indicating that she did not know what her sister was getting at.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Elain jerked her chin towards Nesta’s hand. “You can call him.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Nesta rolled her eyes. “There’s no way this is a real number.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, he obviously didn’t think you were a thief,” Elain replied. “Who’s to say it isn’t a real number?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Do you seriously think he would pickpocket someone and then give them his contact information in case they felt like reaching out?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It could be a temporary phone number,” Feyre suggested. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Or an alternate one using one of those apps where you can change your number whenever you want,” Lucien supplied. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“There’s no harm in trying,” Elain remarked. Then with a smirk, she added, “Unless you’re scared?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Nesta Archeron hated backing down from dares. She grabbed the phone and opened the app that allowed her to not only have her caller ID be listed as ‘private’ but also for it to be traced back to a random number that the app generated in case anyone did some digging. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>After typing the number in, she held the phone to her ear, listening to it ring. It rang once, twice, thrice. She was almost certain that the number was fake (or at least that Cas — or whatever his real name was — wasn’t going to pick up) when suddenly the call connected. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>His voice was far more hesitant than it had been when they were flirting in front of the station as he called out, “Hello?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Thanks for reading! Please leave a comment / kudos !</p>
<p>Come talk to me on my Tumblr (@sayosdreams)</p></blockquote></div></div>
</body>
</html>